Thursday, January 22, 2009

And the Not-Quite-Winners-Yet Are ...

A few hours ago at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, the nominations for the 81st Academy Awards were announced. And as I predicted, the contest here at Pop Culture America came down to a razor-thin margin. In the end, the official tally was John -- 24, Dave -- 23 (we said Kate Winslet would be up for Revolutionary Road instead of The Reader, but I'm counting it anyway). I planned my total as a tribute to Jack Bauer.

It was Michael Shannon of Revolutionary Road who put me over the top (with an assist from Richard Jenkins). Davey edged me by correctly gleaning that Amy Adams and Brad Pitt would have their names called. Check below for the complete nomination slate. but first, a few reactions:

As has happened so many times in the past, the Golden Globe winners in the Lead Actor and Actress categories for Comedy/Musical do not even sniff a nomination (last year's nod to Marion Cotillard was a notable exception). Neither Colin Farrell nor Sally Hawkins will be getting gussied up on the 22nd of February, unless the Academy throws them a bone and has them present. I suggest having them present together. Bitterly.

Down the slate a bit, I'm surprised by the exclusion of previous Academy Award winner Bruce Springsteen whose song for The Wrestler I would have guessed would be a surefire nominee. I'm glad to see the Pixar short Presto which played in front of Wall-E in theaters, gained recognition. It was a riot.

And speaking of Wall-E, Best Animated film had better not even be contested this year. Kung Fu Panda and Bolt are both aggressively mediocre and not worthy to carry Wall-E's little metallic jockstrap.

The Fox Searchlight campaign to position Dev Patel as a Supporting Actor for Slumdog Millionaire failed. I'd like to think that he wasn't nominated because his role was clearly the lead, but that hasn't stopped any of dozens of previous nominees in this category. I'll just chalk it up to a strong field.

How about zero tech award noms for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. None. And no Best Original Score nomination for John Williams. Every other Indiana Jones movie was nominated for (and usually won) effects awards and Williams' scores were nominated every time. I know the movie wasn't great, but the effects and the score were essentially unchanged. Maybe that was the problem.

The Reader sneaking into the Best Picture race is a shock, not least of all because it ain't that good (see below for a full review). I guess Ricky Gervais was right when he told Kate Winslet at the Golden Globes that once you make a holocaust movie, the awards flow.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leads the field at thirteen nominations, with Slumdog Millionaire second at ten.

And finally, The Dark Knight. In a little over a month, after the Oscar telecast, you will hear the usual hand-wringing about how the show isn't as popular as it used to be and its viewership continues to erode and it will be the least-watched Oscars ever and whatever can we do? Boo-frickin'-hoo. This year, the Academy had a legitimate contender for the Best Picture Award in the second-highest-grossing film of all time and they passed it over for a hokey Holocaust drama and a flawed concept film (Hi Benjamin!). Box office should, in no way, be a determiner of a film's quality, but in this case, it just so happens that the year's box-office champ was also a brilliant and thoughtful and relevant movie. None but the most provincial, anti-superhero, bigoted critics (and Dave) would have looked askance if it had been included. When Academy members try to figure out why people continue to abandon their annual showcase, they need to start the process by gazing into the deep, dark, truthful mirror.

By the way, the Academy may not be embracing comics, but the Louvre -- the mother scratchin' LOUVRE! -- is. Check out the story here.

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John P. Oconnor Jr.- Producer/Co-Host

Former Book editor whose love for movies, tv and music forged a instinct for the finer crap of our Pop Culture America. His favorite movie is "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein" His favorite comfort food is Pork Chops and apple sauce (Thank you, Peter Brady)

Dave Weiser- Producer/Co-Host

A radio Host/Producer in Chicago. Dave likes the finer Pop Coture- like a Pecan Log from Stuckeys or visiting the first Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin, Kentucky. Dave's guilty pleasure in movies are the fine collaborations of Dustin Hoffman and Warren beatty in "Ishtar" and "Dick Tracy".

Regular Contributors to Pop Culture America

"Uncle" Marty Selgrad
Marty is Pop Culture America's field expert on music, tv and the career of Brett Summers on the hit game Show "Match Game"

"Dandy" Jim Parson-
Jim is Pop Culture America's Religion and philosophy Pop Culture Expert. Any religious controversies or topics that need explaining go directly to JimMichael "Cant wait for Twilight" O'Connor
Michael is the very knowledgable guest host of Pop Culture America who specializes in the latest in Video games and beyond.